Durbin: Mail Processing Operation to Remain in Quincy

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – In a letter to Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL), Postmaster General Jack Potter announced the termination of the Area Mail Processing study that was under way concerning the possible consolidation of operations of the mail processing and distribution center in Quincy, Illinois. Potter also assured Durbin that no positions will be eliminated at the facility due to the study.

“This announcement is good news for the employees of the mail processing center and residents in the Quincy region,” said Durbin. “Moving the Quincy facility’s operations could have resulted in the loss of up to seventy jobs and caused delays in the delivery of important mail. I am pleased with Postmaster General Potter’s decision and look forward to working with the Postal Service in any future effort to find a suitable, cost-saving alternative.”

As Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government (FSGG), Durbin authored a provision that was passed by the committee which would have halted the U.S. Postal Service’s move to consolidate operations and close the mail processing and distribution center in Quincy, Illinois. The provision was included in the 2010 FSGG Appropriations bill passed by the full Senate Appropriations Committee last month.

On June 4, Durbin sent a letter to the Postmaster General requesting more information into the actions the Postal Service has taken in regards to their Quincy facility and the plans for community input. The Postal Service had undertaken a study on the feasibility of consolidating some mail operations and moving the U.S. Postal Service’s Processing and Distribution Annex in Quincy.